# How Music Works, It's Magic ## Rhythm > "Classical music is music without Africa". - Undifferentiated beats convey a consistent pulse. - Our brain unconsciously group pulses into group of 2, 3, 4. - Meter = pattern of repeated beats. - Duple meter = strong, weak... - Triple meter = strong, weak, weak... - Measure lines/Bar lines. - Two axes of music = pitch + duration - Neume -> Notea (Note) - Duple division of notes - Downbeat and Syncopation - Syncopation usually in melody, beat usually in bass - "Downbeat" - conductor's hand goes down - to convey meter - Duration + Accent + Range + Chord Changes - Tempo = Speed of beats - People dance with steady beat - We may create accelerando or ritardando - Reality is on the beat, art is off the beat. | Tempo Marking | Speed (BPM) | | :-----------: | :---------: | | Lento | 40-45 | | Largo | 45-50 | | Adagio | 55-65 | | Andante | 73-77 | | Moderato | 86-97 | | Allegretto | 98-109 | | Allegro | 109-132 | | Vivace | 132-140 | | Presto | 168-177 | | Prestissimo | 178+ | ## Melody is the Star - Melody = a coherent collection of pitches animated by a rhythm and usually by a harmony - Higher frequencies disappear more quickly but sounds clearer. - Scale = adjacent notes going up or down - China - Pentatonic scale - India - Six notes scale - Western - Seven notes scale - settle by ancient Greeks - Octave duplication - two-to-one ratio ![[major-and-minor-scale.png]] - Chromatic scale - all twelve possible pitches - as black keys filled the keyboard - Adds richness/variety/tension (ascending), or releases the tension (descending) - Mode and Mood - Minor sad, Major happy - it's nurture, not nature. - Major/Minor Mode Scale, the third interval of the scale. - Changing the mode -> changing the mood. - Tonic of Melody - The first note of the scale. - All melodies end on tonic. - Tonality = Key - Modulation - = change of key - You can hear it's modulated, but you don't know where to, unless you possess _absolute pitch_. - _Pump up modulation_ at the end of pop songs. - Melody - Antecedent and Consequent phrases - away phrase and back home phrase - The more jumps and leaps in the melody, the harder to sing along - Disjunct melody vs conjunct melody ## The Harmony of Music (and Life) - Harmony - Music in most of the cultures go without harmony. - Harmony formed by chords = simultaneously sounding two or more pitches, specifically triads - Tonic -> VI Subdominant -> V Dominant -> Tonic - Chord Progressions and Cadence - Harmony must be changed to fit the melody to create consonance - The end of the progression is the cadence = a fall to the end - Authentic Cadence = V -> I - Deceptive Cadence = unexpected, V -> VI - "Amen" Cadence = VI -> I - Half Cadence = to create a pause, I -> V - Three types of listening - Analytical - "What's going on?" - Technical - "How well are they doing it?" - Emotional - "How do I feel about the Music?" ![[c-major-and-c-minor-triads.png]] - Chord - Arpeggio = play the notes in a chord in succession - Ostinato = harmony/melody/rhythm repeating again and again - Canon = round, one voice starts out, the others duplicate it exactly - Major and Minor triads differ by a half-step in the middle